Siege of Shouchun (258)

The Siege of Shouchun was part of Zhuge Dan's 257 CE rebellion against Cao Wei, caused by his rise to power and his hopes of saving Wei from Sima Zhao. The rebels, backed by Wu, numbered in the hundreds of thousands, but many defected following Wu general Zhu Yi's execution by Sun Chen, and Zhuge Dan was killed along with those who chose not to surrender.

Background
Tensions between the Sima clan and Wei loyalists was sparked by Sima Yi's rise to fame in the 220s and 230s in his resistance to Zhuge Liang's invasions of Wei. Sima Yi proceeded to depose regent marshal Cao Shuang in 249 when he wasted away the treasury on banquets and festivals, and killed him and his family. Xiahou Ba, his cousin, fled to Shu; many others stood in fear of the Sima clan. An attempt by Wang Ling to replace the young Emperor Cao Fang with a more proactive Cao Mao in 251 CE failed, and the 80 year-old Wang Ling was put to death. Sima Yi died shortly after, and his sons Sima Shi and Sima Zhao took over, crushing several rebellions and repelling Shu invasions by Jiang Wei. Their general Zhuge Dan, a cousin of the late Zhuge Liang, performed badly during the Battle of Dongxing in 252 but redeemed himself at the Siege of New Hefei Castle in 253, and became a trusted general of Sima Shi. They defeated the rebellion by Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin in 255 when Sima Shi deposed Cao Fang (who attempted to kill him), but Zhuge Dan grew disappointed of the Sima clan's tyranny. When Sima Shi died, Sima Zhao took over. Relations between Sima Zhao and Zhuge Dan did not bode well since the Dongxing incident, and Zhuge Dan was posted in Shouchun while Sima Zhao was sequestered in Luoyang on Cao Mao's orders. Zhuge Dan treated his generals with uncommon kindness and gave gifts to the people of Shouchun, gaining their loyalty. In 257, Cao Mao told Zhuge Dan to visit the capital for an appointment to an imperial position. Thinking that he would be assassinated in Luoyang, Zhuge Dan instead rebelled, and allied with Wu. Sima Zhao wanted to put sense into him, but led a unit to besiege Shouchun Castle and stop the chaos.

Siege Preparations
Zhuge Dan was heavily fortified in the castle, which had been used by Wang Ling and Guanqiu Jian-Wen Qin in their rebellions in 251 and 255, respectively (Wen Qin was now his second-in-command). He had 150,000 supporters, all farmers who had grown to love him; he was also backed by Wu's ruler Sun Chen, who supplied him with 30,000 troops. Sima Zhao built rams, ladders, and catapults, and made a siege camp outside of the castle, but the moat was impenetrable, and he knew that he would have to settle down for a siege. Zhong Hui was made his aide-de-campe for the battle.

Start of the Siege
The Wei Army started off with 260,000 troops, encamped outside the city. Sima Zhao ordered his troops to leave the camp and pick off the lurking forces of Zhuge Dan outside of the castle. The rebels fought tenaciously, but many were cut down by the Wei forces. Zhuge Dan, meanwhile, kept to his keep in the Shouchun Castle interior. Soon, the rebels sortied out of the castle.

At this juncture, the Wu fleet under Zhu Yi landed on the Changjiang with all 30,000 troops disembarking to assist Zhuge Dan. The Wu Army attack was defeated by Zhong Hui in their first attempt, and the Wu retreated to their fleet. Minutes later, the Wu fleet returned to battle, landing more troops. The Wei successfully repulsed the Wu reinforcements again, and an enraged Sun Lin had Zhu Yi executed.

Sima Zhao wisely told Zhong Hui to spread the news to the Wu generals. Fearing that if they retreated they would also be killed, many (including the family of Quan Cong) defected to Wei. The forces outside of the castle were defeated, and Sun Chen arrived with the main Wu army. Sima Zhao led his massive army to defeat him, and Sun Chen was killed. The Wu army retreated, leaving Shouchun isolated.

End of the Siege
Zhuge Dan was advised by Wen Qin to surrender for the sake of the people. Zhuge Dan had Wen Qin executed after arguements started, so Sima Zhao convinced his strong sons Wen Hu and Wen Yang to rejoin Wei. They in turn convinced the gate guards to let open the castle drawbridge, and the Wei assaulted the castle. Those who resisted Sima Zhao were killed, and many surrendered. Zhuge Dan set the castle on fire, knowing he would lose, and he was cut down. The Wei forces left the castle, which burnt to cinders. The rebellion was crushed.